Let me tell you a story that begins with an angel urging shepherds not to be afraid. “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today, in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Messiah, the Lord.”
Yes, Luke chapter 2 isn’t a typical Easter Sunday text. But that’s how Luke’s gospel account begins: angels appearing and shepherds running off to see this good news for themselves before spreading the word to others.
Good news: A savior is born.
Of great joy: God is with us.
For all people: Let’s go tell others.
Now, look at how Luke’s gospel ends with Resurrection Sunday in Chapter 24. Here, it’s an empty tomb instead of a baby in a manger. It’s an angel telling women not to be afraid. It’s linen burial cloths instead of swaddling cloths. It’s Peter running to see this unbelievable news for himself. It’s disciples, their hearts burning with joy, rushing back to tell the others.
And just to make sure they’ve got it, Jesus gives his disciples a quick summary recap of all that has just happened, and a taste of what’s to come:
“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.’” –Luke 24:45–49
Good news. Christ has risen.
Of great joy. I will be with you.
For all people. Go tell the nations.
But Luke’s account doesn’t end there. The Book of Acts builds on the theme and demonstrates the unstoppable force of the gospel as it spreads to all people. Just fifty days after Easter Sunday, during a Jewish festival of harvest, the promised power of the Holy Spirit arrives like rushing wind and flames of fire.
And who gets to hear the good news? “People from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). For the first time, many hear what good news sounds like in their own heart language. Great joy indeed.
Today we begin a 50 day journey looking at this world-changing, joy-filling, never-ending story of good news we call the gospel. What is it? What isn’t it? If it’s good news, what makes it good? How is it for all people? And what does great joy have to do with it anyway?
We’ll start right here, staring for a moment into the empty tomb. Daring to look again at something so unbelievable that it makes people feel both afraid and joyful at the same time. We’ll go by telling the old stories, sharing some new ones, and then running like crazy to tell other people what we’ve seen and heard. We’ll follow where these 50 days between Easter and Pentecost take us: to a place of abundant harvest. And we’ll journey as ordinary people, fueled by extraordinary joy, accompanied by friends and family we may have never met before. Let’s go.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Darren and Pam Prince live in Whitechapel, London where they have served among asylum seekers, immigrants, and twelve-step recovery communities with London’s InnerCHANGE Team since 2007. Prior to that, they directed a ministry to homeless young people in San Francisco, California. Darren served as the InnerCHANGE General Director from 2014 – 2022 and is currently Novo’s Senior Vice President, shaping internal communications and organizational culture. Darren is passionate about making disciples, teaching the Bible, reading good books, befriending people on the margins, and sipping high quality coffee.